Orderly stacked graphene sheets supporting SnO2 nanoparticles as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries with incremental capacity

The large capacity fading and short lifespan of SnO2-based anodes originate from the serious coarsening of Sn nanoparticles caused by structural reorganization of SnO2 during repeated cycling. Herein, a hybrid structure composed of SnO2 supported on orderly stacked graphene sheets (SnO2@OS-rGO) is constructed by freeze-casting method to address the above issues. The orderly stacked graphene anchors SnO2 firmly depending on the π-π interactions, thus improves the discharge capacity and cycling stability of SnO2. Besides, the ordered graphene promotes the reaction kinetics of SnO2@OS-rGO by shorten the transmission path of lithium ions. As a result, the obtained SnO2@OS-rGO delivers an unconventional discharge capacity up to 1080 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 for over 500 cycles, which increased by ~ 200% compared with the 1st cycle. The gradually increasing capacity originates from the improvement of the conversion reaction. This study provides a new strategy for developing long cycle stable SnO2 anodes by introducing orderly stacked graphene.